Celebrating Duncan Hines

Bowling Green is the home of Duncan Hines, “The Man Behind the Cake Mix.” Today his fame is celebrated with the Duncan Hines Festival annually, this year spanning two weekends, August 3, 4, and 10.

On Friday, August 3, a recipe contest will be judged at 4 p.m. (entry form due by July 15) with cash prizes. On Friday evening an Artist Awards Presentation/Silent Auction followed by a ’50s Rock ’n Roll Party, including a costume contest, will be held at the Western Kentucky University Kentucky Museum, where a new exhibit “Recommended by Duncan Hines” will open in conjunction with the festival.

On Saturday, August 4, Duncan Hines’ favorite breakfast, eggs and country ham, will be served at the Kentucky Museum, featuring Jonathan Jeffrey, a historian and Duncan Hines expert. A children’s pageant will be held at 10 a.m. and at 4 p.m. a Chautauqua presentation by Mike Thomas will be held, “Meet Duncan Hines.”

On Friday, August 10, at Fountain Square in downtown, the Duck Derby races begin for anyone who wants to pay $5 to adopt one (they are rubber duckies). There will be several heats starting at 5 p.m. and ending around 10:30 p.m., with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners taking home a whopping $2,500, $1,000, and $500 respectively.

Friday night will feature a 6:30 p.m. Street Dance with the Blue Light Special Band and Skip Bond and The Fugitives. There will also be children’s inflatables and food vendors that evening.

Pinnacle Foods, the owner of Duncan Hines products, is expected to provide a surprise food giveaway as they have done in past years during the festival.

Fees apply for the Friday night ’50s Rock ’n Roll dance party, eggs and country ham breakfast, Chautauqua, and pageant; the other events are free to the public.

For more information, go on the Web to www.wku.edu/duncanhines or call the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 326-7465.